Creative Process Journal: Post-modernism, Cindy Sherman and Marie Antoinette

Cindy Sherman Untitled 225 (1990)

Post-modernism describes a philosophical movement holds that there is no absolute truth because realities are relative and dependent on the parties involved and their interests. In other words, the way in which people perceive the world is subjective. Inherent in the definition is a questioning of the boundaries between categories like male and female, straight and gay, white and black.

In postmodern art, this perspective has broad implications. There is a sense that everything has been done before and thus post-modernist expression often includes techniques like appropriation, bricolage, collage, pastiche, the use of text as a central artistic element, performance art, and the nostalgic borrowing of past styles and themes in a contemporary context. The use of irony, pastiche, parody and subversion are also common.

Photographer Cindy Sherman is an example of a postmodern artist in that her self-portraits capture her dressed in the role of another person but are not really about her or any other real person. They embody a critique of culture and ask the viewer to consider practices of looking, agency, and female identity.

For my creative project "Marie Antoinette Slept Here", I am trying to incorporate post-modernist aspects into this work. The dress itself is a bricollage mash up of fabrics and a nostalgic referencing of the 18th century in a contemporary context. Making it more than just a dress will require more thought and more work on my part.

Some off the top of my head ideas I'm considering include:
* using the dress in a photograph taken in Versailles to create the illusion that the dress was worn there
* making a t-shirt using the obsession collage from an earlier post to wear underneath the dress in lieu of a corset
* incorporating Converse sneakers like was done in Sophia Coppola's film version of Marie Antoinette
* donning the dress myself and taking self-portraits in Cindy Sherman style
* making a necklace of safety pins in lieu of the ribbon that was typically worn with a robe a la francaise
* all of the above!

Project Clock: +1.5 hours      To-date: 15.5 hours

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All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

Book Review: Queen of Fashion, What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution

Not only am I passionate about fashion, I am also a passionate reader. The stack of books beside my bed wobbles precariously every time I add more books to the pile. I read widely - everything from serious non-fiction to chick lit. I am not fussy about the topic so much as I am about the quality of the writing. I demand writing that is clear, to the point and engaging.

Caroline Weber's book on Marie Antoinette: "Queen of Fashion, What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution" is exactly my kind of book and a must read for both history buffs or fashion fans. From the introduction through to the footnotes, I was utterly entranced by the skillful writing. She weaves a thoughtful and well-researched argument about how Marie Antoinette's choices of clothing and accessories became instruments of politics and power. I could not put the book down.

Caroline Weber will be at the Royal Ontario Museum tomorrow, Saturday, October 17th, from 1-2 pm giving a lecture called "Marie Antoinette: Fatal Flair for Fashion", followed by a book-signing. Tickets are $20 for members and $23 for non-members. The movie "Marie Antoinette" by Sophia Coppola will be shown at 230 pm.

Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution
Caroline Weber
Picador Press, Henry Holt & Co, New York, 2006